


Barney the Intern (Entry #2)

by WillGrahamJournals



Series: Will Graham's Journal and File Archives - BSHCI [2]
Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Diary/Journal, Originally Posted on Tumblr
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-11
Updated: 2017-07-11
Packaged: 2018-11-30 18:04:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 585
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11468817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WillGrahamJournals/pseuds/WillGrahamJournals
Summary: Originally published at willgrahamjournals (Tumblr), August 19, 2013.Written before any knowledge of what was to happen in season 2. Alas, Barney Matthews was not introduced at all. Little did I know what his stand in would do...





	Barney the Intern (Entry #2)

I barely speak to anybody here unless it’s necessary. I’ve been told I’m suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and my silence is part of that. I see my reflection in their eyes. They look at me as if I’m a feral dog with its tail covering its genitals. Dangerous in its fear.

I give them nothing that confirms or denies their suspicions. I answer their questions and fill out their tests. I know it doesn’t matter. They’ve already decided I’m a killer. Even before the courts have put it to question.

In reality, this place is toxic. I don’t think I need to go into excessive detail as to why.

There is a new intern here. Barney. It’s hard for me to treat him like I do the others: with cool indifference and only seeing their vague shapes from my peripherals. Maybe it’s his “newness” to this environment. He hasn’t been bitten or scratched or emotionally pummeled by the patients here yet. His eyes are so bright with intelligence that they are hard to avoid.

Today was Barney’s first on the floor. A barrage of racial slurs exploded from the cell at the beginning of our wing. A disgusting welcome. I don’t know who’s locked in there. I don’t care.

Barney has a near silent walk in spite of his build. He is a bit husky but not fat, strong but not overtly muscular. He appears younger than I am, at least, but its hard to tell. Nevertheless, he is clearly physically able to handle a man like myself. I’m assuming this is why he’s been assigned to this wing, where a “high profile” patient is awaiting trial. After what Gideon did to that nurse, I doubt they’re willing to take any chances. I vaguely feel bad for the female applicants who were certainly met with unfair veiled sexism.

Anyways, Barney, his superior, and a guard wielding a dart-gun went through the procedures of opening my cell. I expected Barney’s voice to fall flat with disconnect as he recited the familiar “William Graham, face the wall with your hands on your head. If you turn around, you will be shot with a dart. Do you understand?”

Instead, his voice resonated with another quality. More attentive and polite. I had paused for a moment before answering, “Yes,” as if awakening from a daydream. He stepped up behind me with that quiet walk, cuffing my wrists in such a way that it would be difficult to dislocate a thumb for escape. Not that I had planned to, but they most definitely told him to expect it. Or he read the papers, at least.

He took me on my allotted walk in a moderately sized outdoor area with high walls. I have Dr. Bloom to thank for that. So they tell me. I don’t expect I’ll have this privilege when Chilton gets back.

Barney stood back, giving me room to make my steady laps. The silence between us buzzed with energy. My jaw twitched with a need to acknowledge him verbally. As I passed him in the fourth lap, I nodded to him, a kind of greeting I’ve never given to the others. He smiled back, rocking on his feet with a kind of full body nod. And that was it.

It’s strange to think how the tiniest expression of acknowledgment can make me feel…I don’t know, human? I am thankful for Barney, even if that simple gesture is the last.

-Will Graham, journal entry #2

**Author's Note:**

> Originally published at willgrahamjournals (Tumblr), August 19, 2013.
> 
> Written before any knowledge of what was to happen in season 2. Alas, Barney Matthews was not introduced at all. Little did I know what his stand in would do...


End file.
